Today, the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games officially opened. The opening ceremony takes place tonight at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, and the whole city of Nagoya feels like it’s in festival mode. This is the first time Japan has hosted the Asian Games in 32 years, since Hiroshima in 1994, and being here in Nagoya for this moment — even between treatments — felt genuinely special.
The day before, I heard what sounded like a fighter jet roaring overhead while I was mid-treatment. I had no idea what it was at first, but the next client who came in told me, “Everyone outside was pointing their phones at the sky — probably the Blue Impulse doing a practice run.” That cleared things up. Sure enough, today, on the actual opening day, the Blue Impulse flew a full formation display over the city — reportedly right over Hisaya-odori Park in Sakae, just a short walk from Fushimi. A gorgeous way to kick off the Games. I was inside treating clients all day, so I missed it myself, but my child got to see it from daycare, which made me happy.
My own history with karate — Shotokan, and a first-degree black belt
Something I don’t often mention: I’ve practiced karate since I was a child. My style is Shotokan, and I hold a first-degree black belt (shodan). In high school I competed at the prefectural championships, and even back then I leaned toward kata over kumite — I won the kata division at Shotokan tournaments more than once. Building each strike and stance with precision, chasing clean, unwasted movement in kata — that pursuit, I think, is where my current focus on realigning the body’s axis through treatment first took root.
Learning that karate is part of this Asian Games made me want to go watch it in person for the first time in years. I’ve been so focused on acupuncture lately that I’ve barely moved my own body, and seeing these athletes has me thinking it’s time I did the same. The competition will be broadcast too, so I’m planning to catch some kata footage on a break and revisit that old feeling.
Karate at the Asian Games
Karate at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games runs September 20–23 at Toyohashi City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture. The competition is split into two disciplines: Kata, a solo performance of a set sequence of attacking and defending moves judged on precision, power, speed, and balance; and Kumite, where two athletes face off directly under competition rules.
- Kata: Men’s Individual Kata, Women’s Individual Kata
- Kumite (Men): –60kg, –67kg, –75kg, –84kg, +84kg
- Kumite (Women): –50kg, –55kg, –61kg, –68kg, +68kg
Team Japan’s karate roster includes Sou Nishiyama (Men’s Individual Kata), Maho Ono (Women’s Individual Kata), Daimu Hashimoto (Men’s Kumite –60kg), Yugo Kozaki (Men’s Kumite –67kg), Sarara Shimada (Women’s Kumite –61kg), and Tsubasa Kama (Women’s Kumite –68kg). Having once stood on the mat myself, I have real respect for what it takes to compete under that kind of pressure, and I’ll be cheering every one of them on.
Karate and acupuncture share the same starting point: the body’s axis
Thinking it over, karate kata and the skeletal muscle correction I do in treatment aren’t as different as they might seem — both come back to aligning the body’s axis, its center of balance. A beautiful kata comes from a stable core and unwavering balance. Correcting the skeleton and muscles through acupuncture, guiding the body back to its “zero position,” is really the same pursuit: recovering that central axis. Better posture means deeper breathing, and deeper breathing helps the autonomic nervous system find its balance too. Treating clients today, that connection came back to me unexpectedly.
A quick note on Fushimi and Sakae
Yurumari, in Fushimi, is just a short walk from Sakae — home to Hisaya-odori Park, where the Blue Impulse flew today — and from Marunouchi. The area has plenty worth seeing, like the Nagoya City Science Museum, plus good supermarkets where you can grab a proper meal. If you’re ever stuck for food or looking for something nearby before or after your treatment, just ask the staff (laughs).
The Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games run through October 4th, and this October the same region will host the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games as well. To every athlete competing, in karate and every other sport, and to everyone helping run these Games — I’m cheering you on from Fushimi, Nagoya. As someone who once trained on the same kind of mat, I hope all that practice pays off exactly when it counts. Thank you for bringing so much energy to Nagoya and to Fushimi!